Naseer, 61, the dancing star!

By Hindustan Times

Mumbai, Dec. 28 -- In 1989, he had put on his dancing shoes for the first time for Tridev's hit track 'Oye oye...'. A few weeks ago, he was seen running around trees with Vidya Balan in the popular song from Milan Luthria's The Dirty Picture, 'Ooh la la...'. And now, Naseeruddin Shah is putting his best foot forward for three dance numbers in Hriday Shetty's Chaalis Chauraasi.

"Funnily, I have had to dance in two films this year, when I haven't danced on two numbers for more than 20 years now. I never thought I'd have to do this all over again," says Shah, smiling. He will be seen dancing to three songs in the film 'Badmast...', 'Setting zhala...' and a remix of the '80s hit 'Hawa hawa...'.

Tell Naseer that co-star Atul Kulkarni feels he dances really well and he asks with a laugh: "Is it? I feel I can give people the confidence that you can make a fool of yourself (by dancing badly) without worrying about it."

Luckily, the gruelling dance sessions that Naseer sweated it out for, for The Dirty Picture, helped him in this project. "When Hriday told me that I have to do these dance numbers, I was already practicing. But I'm g glad, since it helped me get my body language right for the characters in both films," says the 61-year-old actor, who has won three National Awards.

Recalling why it took him "precisely a minute" to take up Chaalis Chauraasi, he adds, "The story was utterly ll engrossing. I couldn't come across even a single scene which, I could say, was lifted, inspired or a tribute to ' something. It's a wonderful script."

Ask Naseer why he chooses to work with new directors -Neeraj Pandey (A Wednesday), Ribhu Das Gupta (Michael), Kabir Kaushik (Maximum) and now Hriday and he quips "Devsaab (Dev Anand) used to say this and I love to quote it they make me feel young! I have had my stint with the masters of cinema. Now, I want to interact and work with youngsters. And it's just a coincidence that young people are offering me the roles I like to do."